Weaver's outing shorter than expected

Starter surprised to be pulled after three innings

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, April 22, 2007

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Seattle starter Jeff Weaver said he was surprised to be pulled out of Sunday's game after three innings, trailing 3-0.

"I was definitely looking to come back out there for the fourth," Weaver said as the team packed up and prepared to fly to Dallas for tonight's game in Arlington, Texas, against the Rangers. "I don't know what that was about.

"I haven't talked to the skipper. But it's his job to make that call. Now I just have to get ready to pitch again in five days."

Hargrove said Weaver, 0-3 with a 13.91 ERA in three starts, would make his next start Friday against Kansas City.

When the issue was pushed, however, Hargrove declined to say if other pitchers were in consideration. Weaver signed a one-year deal for $8.25 million in January, and Seattle undoubtedly wants to give him more than three games to show himself.

"That's a very tough move to make," Hargrove said. "But for the good of the club, sometimes you have to make moves you don't really like."

Pitching coach Rafael Chaves, who said he and Hargrove were in agreement on the move, said they were "trying to look for a club reaction" in making the move.

NO EASE FOR BETANCOURT: Yuniesky Betancourt generally gets straight A's for his work at shortstop.

Sunday he got all E's. Betancourt made errors on consecutive ground balls in the fifth inning, setting up two unearned runs that helped to bury Seattle as the Angels scored a 6-1 win.

Not only had Betancourt never made two errors in an inning in the U.S., but also he hadn't made two errors in a game.

"The last time was in Cuba," the 25- year-old refugee said. "I don't remember doing that."

The first error was on a wild throw with Betancourt trying to gun Orlando Cabrera at first base. The second was a muffed grounder on a ball hit by Vladimir Guerrero.

Those were the fifth and sixth errors of the season for Betancourt in 14 games. He didn't make an error the entire month of April last year.

SIXTH-INNING SWING: Backup first baseman/outfielder Ben Broussard, who hit his third career pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning Saturday, gave much of the credit to veteran utility player Willie Bloomquist.

The three pinch-hit grand slams tie the big league record held by Rich Reese (Twins), Ron Northey (Cardinals) and Willie McCovey (Giants).

Broussard and Bloomquist are on the bench most days, although Bloomquist got a rare start at second base Sunday against the Angels.

When they are both on the bench, they have fallen into the routine of going to the batting cages under the stadium, where Bloomquist pitches to Broussard.

"He gets up close and throws me some really nasty pitches," Broussard said. "I think he cheats on some of them. I give Willie a lot of the credit, because he keeps me as sharp as I can be."

Bloomquist, who said he hasn't pitched since high school but would like to get an inning in the big leagues at some point, throws every pitch he can think of, including sliders, fastballs and even a curve.

He admits to hiding behind the frame of the screen when getting ready to throw, the better to make it tough on Broussard. He added that the workout works for him, too.

"When he's got like 17 straight hits against me, I want to get him out at least once," Bloomquist said with a laugh. "The thing is, I'd want to throw to get loose for whatever they're going to need me to do. So I like getting in the cage, too."

Bloomquist recommended outfielder Jason Ellison to throw Sunday, because Bloomquist wouldn't be available while playing. He and Ellison were teammates in high school (South Kitsap), and he said Ellison was 30-0 over the course of two years.

"I was 20-0," Ellison said, correcting the record. "With an ERA of 0.86. I brought it at about 92 (mph). But when I didn't get drafted, I thought I'd better try to find another position."

WHAT ABOUT MATEO? In his past two games, Julio Mateo has come in with the bases loaded and with two men on.

All five of those runners have come around to score, leaving the Mariners to wonder what the problem is. Hargrove, Chaves and the rest of the staff batted the question around after Saturday's game, when Mateo allowed two inherited runners and one of his own to score in the fifth.

"I talked with our pitching guys last night," Hargrove said before Sunday's game. "I don't know that there was a consensus for what's happened. The last two games haven't been good.

"Before that, he was lights out. Now, he seems to be hanging his slider. He may be rushing things. The bullpen hasn't gotten a lot of work in the last three weeks, and that may be a factor."

RHODES' ELBOW: Arthur Rhodes will have yet another test on his ailing left elbow today in Southern California.

The veteran will have a CT scan at the urging of Dr. Lewis Yocum, an orthopedist and arm specialist.

However, Rhodes' hope of avoiding ligament-replacement surgery and missing at least the next 12 months seems to be receding.

"Whatever it is, I just want to get it over," he said. "If I've got to do something (have surgery), then let's get it done."

JOH'S READY: The Mariners expect that catcher Kenji Johjima, who came out of Saturday's game with a bruised right calf in the fifth inning, will be able to play tonight in Texas.

Johjima said he'd be ready to go, that the pain wasn't much, and Hargrove said it was his plan to have Johjima catch. The Sunday catcher was Jamie Burke, who was due to start the game even if there had been no injury.

EXTRA BASES: Adrian Beltre was moved into the No. 7 spot for the day with Hargrove finding a place in the lineup for Bloomquist batting second. Beltre, who homered to give Seattle its run in the fifth inning, will be back batting second tonight, Hargrove said. ... Beltre's homer was his third of the month and got him to 12 RBIs. He had only one homer and six RBIs all of last April. ... Sunday's fifth-inning strikeout for Ichiro Suzuki was his 10th of the season in 14 games and 56 at-bats. He didn't get to double digits in strikeouts last year until his 20th game and his 82nd at-bat.